Onision announces YouTube departure after demonetization

James ‘Onision’ Jackson has announced he will be leaving YouTube after being demonetized by the platform following a documentary looking into allegations of sexual abuse.

Onision first joined YouTube in 2006 and became well known for his comedic songs and sketches including the viral “Banana Song.”

Since then, the 35-year-old has become almost notorious for allegations against him of manipulation, grooming, and sexual abuse. This includes a range of disturbing allegations emerging in autumn 2019.

Along with a video also resurfacing of his alleged abusive behavior towards former fiancé Shiloh Hogansen — where he is filmed saying “No one will ever know how much I abuse you” — a series of young girls also came forward with allegations of grooming against him and his then-spouse Kai Anderson.

Things escalated further when Chris Hansen announced in late October 2019 that he would be collaborating with the FBI on an investigation into Jackson’s behavior, with him interviewing his ex Shiloh as well as two of the young girls who accused him of grooming and manipulation: Billie Dawn Webb and Sarah.

Webb later had her phone number posted online by Jackson in a presumable retaliation against her speaking out. This led to him being banned by Patreon in November 2019 for doxxing.

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Onision was also banned from Twitch in January 2020 but was quietly unbanned by the platform in October 2020, sparking a wave of outrage. Many also criticized YouTube for keeping the creator online despite the number of controversies.

However, it seems that YouTube has changed its tune. On Wednesday, January 20, Onision posted a video to his account “OnisionSpeaks” announcing that he was leaving YouTube after the platform had made the decision to demonetize his channel. In the video, he addresses and denies the allegations made against him.

He said, “unfortunately after about 14 years on the platform, because of Shiloh following through with her promise to destroy my life, destroy my career, leave me with nothing, here I am with this email telling me that everything I’ve worked for has come to an end.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDSQ27idu3g

In the video he shows a screenshot of the email that the platform sent to him explaining their reasons for demonetizing his content. YouTube cites “continued allegations of off-platform behavior related to child safety that could cause significant harm to the community.”

This comes a day after Discovery+ aired the final episode of Onision: In Real Life, a documentary hosted by Chris Hansen that examines these allegations.